Director Found for The Mummy Reboot?

Universal Pictures announced earlier this year that they had signed a two-year first-look production deal with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The projects included a Van Helsing and The Mummy reboot, and we have a status update on The Mummy.

According to Deadline, Len Wiseman (Total Recall remake, Underworld) is working out a deal with Universal to direct The Mummy reboot. If everything pans out, Universal is looking a summer 2014 release for the movie. The script is being written by Jon Spaihts, who is developing a modern take on the story that is darker than the previous series of films.

Here's what Alex Kurtzman said we can expect from the new story: “We’re reaching into the deep roots of The Mummy, which at its beating heart is a horror movie and then an action movie, and putting it into a context that is real and emotional... It’s still a four quadrant film but as a lot of recent movies have proven, audiences are hungry for more than they used to be. You can still have a family movie, an action movie that’s more grounded than these used to be. Without saying too much, we’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from Michael Crichton’s books, and how he ground fantastical sales in modern day science.”

Universal will no doubt be interested in a series of films rather than a single movie and it was mentioned that Wiseman's work on the Underworld mythology is a big part of why he was approached. Here's what he had to say about taking on the iconic movie monster:

“One of the things that interested me with this mummy is, he’s still in essence a man... They haven’t turned his brain into a monster brain. He still has a personality and is very cunning and calculating. He’s a true character in any form, and in creature form, even if he is that staggering creature, it becomes more important that he’s a thinking, calculating person.”